Engine starter control



Jan. 10, 1939. A. CALLSEN 2,143,683

ENGINE STARTER CONTROL Filed July 23, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 10, 1939. A. CALLSEN ENGINE STARTER CONTROL Filed July'23, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED sTATEs- PATENT OFFICE signor to Robe rt-Bosch Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Stuttgart, Germany 'Applicatlon July 23, 1936, Serial No. 92,213

- In Germany August 2 3, 1935 I '1 Claims.

The present invention relates to an apparatus operated by hand or by foot for switching on a starter for internal combustion engines and for operating parts of a motor vehicle, such as for instance the throttle-valve or clutch.

'In the known apparatus of this kind, the operation of the starter by the accelerator pedal must be done in the first part of the movement at the pedal, and thus with a small stroke, be-

cause the pedal is constantly connected to the throttle-valve and a starting with the throttlevalve too widely open is unfavourable. Generally the combining of the switching-on device for the starter with the operation of the throttle valve in the manner hitherto known also entails drawbacks in so far as the starter itself is concerned,

since owing to the combination with the accelerator rod for example, it is hardly possible to employ a starter of that type which is put into operation by the foot and which necessitates a long pedal movement to put the pinion into engagement. v

' The object of the invention is to overcome these ditficulties and to make the switching on of the starter independent of the operation-of the parts of the vehicle.

' According to the present invention, this desirable result is attained by a switching or changeover device dependent on the working condition of the engine, and by the device being automatically displaced from'the position for switch- Figure 2 shows a second form of construction.

45 of the operating device.

Figures 3 and 4 show further constructions of the operating device.

In Figure 1, I denotes a shaft, to which a pedal 2 is fitted. On this shaft is fixed a sleeve 3, on

50 which an arm 4 is pivotally arranged, so that it can rotate with the shaft and also can be rocked at right angles to this rotary movenient i. e. in

the plane of the shaft. Two supports 5 and 6 are also fixed on the shaft I, one on each side 55 of the arm 4. To the support 5 a cylinder I is fastened, which is connected by a flexible pipe 8 with the induction pipe 9 of anengine. The piston of the cylinder is connected by a rod III to the-arm 4. To the support 6 one end of a traction spring II is attached, while the other end 5 is fixed to the arm 4. The arm 4 in its rotation with the shaft I can act on two rods I2 and I3. The rod I2 is seated on the rocking lever I4 of a starting motor l5, while the rod I3 is connected to the throttle-valve IS in the induction pipe 9 10 hand, the. switch I9 of the starter is closed. On 15 n the rod I3 an adjustable stop I3a is arranged, which is situated in the path of the arm 4 when the arm'moves the rod I2. The purpose of the stop is to be able to give a little gas, in case of need, in the starting operation. The contacts 20 of the switch I9 are made so resilient that after closing the contact the lever I4 can be rocked a short distance further. For the same purpose, a spring 11b is inserted between the pinion II and the sleeve. Ila, which after the full engage- 25 ment of the pinion allows a still further movement of the sleeve. The spring 20 serves for.

moving back the pedal with the shaft and the parts mounted thereon into the position of repose.

The apparatus works in the following manner: 30

On the stoppage of the engine there is no vacuum in'the cylinder I. The arm 4 is therefore pulled by the spring II so far towards its fixed suspension point that it lies in front of the rod I2. On depressing the pedal 2 the rod I2 is moved, and the lever I4 rocked, to cause engagement of the pinion I I with the flywheel I8 and to close the switch [9. As soon as the engine is running under its own power, the driver releases the pedal, so that the arm 4 returns into its position of rest. 40 In the meantime, a vacuum has been formed in thecylinder 'I and has increased to such an extent that it is able to overcome-the force of the spring II, and thus pull the arm 4 to a position in front of the rod I3; When the driver now again depresses the pedal 2, the arm 4 moves the rod I3 and opens the throttle-valve I6. Should the vacuum sink so low when the throttlevalve is open that it carf no longer overcome the' force of the spring II and therefore the spring 5 tends to rock back the arm 4, the arm strikes on V the rod and is thereby prevented from coming out of the range of the rod I3. 'To stop the en glue, the driver releases the pedal 2. The arm 4 returns to its position of repose and as a vacuum no longer exists in the cylinder I the arm is pulled by the spring II to a position in front of the rod |2. If the driver, when starting, notices that the engine is starting badly with the throttle-valve closed, he can somewhat open the throttle-valve by depressing the pedal further.

In the second construction, the sleeve 3 on which the arm 4 is mounted is longitudinally movable on the shaft I. A guide ring 2| is provided externail, on the sleeve on which ring a fork 22 engages, which is connected by a rod 23 with the piston of a vacuum cylinder 24. This form of construction has the advantage thatthe cylinder 24 remains stationary on the rotation of the shaft To limit the displacement ofthe arm 4, stops 25 and 26 are arranged on the shaft I.

In the third construction, the sleeve on which the arm 4 is mounted is also displaceable on the shaft A compression spring 28 is provided on a support 21 which isvfast on the shaft and this spring tends to push the arm 4 towards the rod 29 of the vacuum cylinder. In the cylinder is a spring '30, which presses on the piston 3| of the cylinder and is stronger than the spring 28, so that the arm 4 in the absence of the vacuum is pushed away from the cylinder. As soon as suflicient vacuum exists in the cylinder, the piston is pulled in against the pressure of the spring 30, so that now the spring 28 can push the arm 4 towards the cylinder. The rod 29 only bears on the ring 2| of the sleeves 3 and is not fastened to it, so that it can move quite clear of the ring 2| when the vacuum is suflicient. This construction has the advantage that the connection between the rod 29 and the ring 2| is entirely dispensed with, and therefore there is no frictional resistance when the arm 4 is rotated to operate the throttle-valve. 1

The fourth construction does not differ in principle from the third example. The difference consists merely in that in the former the arm is pivoted and the sleeve 3 is'fast on the shaft. The leaf-spring 32, which is fast on the shaft, also tends, like the spring 28 in Figure 3, to move the arm towards the piston of the vacuum cylinder 35.

The piston rod 33 has at its end a roof-shaped head 34 on which the arm 4 can slide when it is returning from the position in which it operates the throttle-valve to the position of rest, and if for any reason owing to the absence of vacuum in the cylinder 35, the head 34 lies in the path of the arm. This may, for instance, occur if the engine stops owing to overload, because here the throttle-valve is quite open and the vacuum has gone in ,the cylinder before the arm 4 has returned to the position of repose.

I declare that what I claim is:

1. A control me'chanism for internai combustion engines comprising an engine starter, an engine output control, an arm; a rotatable shaft, a sleeve on said arm surrounding said shaft for rotation therewith but relative longitudinal displacement thereon, manual means for rotating said shaft, a rod projecting from said starter into the path of movement of said arm in one position on said shaft, a rod projecting from said output control into the path of movement of said arm in another position on said shaft, and vacuum means associated with the induction pipe of said engine for displacing saidsleeve longitudinally of said shaft from a position in which said arm on rotation of said shaft can engage with said starter rod to a position on said shaft in which said arm can engage with said output control rod on rotation of said'shaft.

2. A control mechanism for internal combus tion engines comprising an engine starter, an engine output control, an arm, a rotatable shaft, a. sleeve on said arm surrounding said shaft for rotation therewith but relative longitudinal displacement thereon, manual means for rotating said shaft, a rod projecting from said starter into the path of movement of said arm in one position on said shaft, a rod projecting from said output control into the path of movement of said arm in another position on said shaft, vacuum means associated with the induction pipe of said engine for displacing said sleeve longitudinally of said shaft from a position in which said arm on rotation of said shaft can engage with said starter rod to a position on said shaft in which said arm can engage with said output control rod on rotation of said shaft, and spring means for returning said arm from said output control position to said position in which it is adapted to engage with said starter.

'3. A control mechanism for internal combustion engines comprising an engine starter, a starter operating rod, a throttle valve constituting an engine output control, a throttle valve rod, a displaceable element, manual means for operating said displaceable element, said displaceable element and said rods adapted to be operatively connected in different positions of said element relative thereto, means responsive to engine operation to displace said element automatically and independently ofits manual operating'meansto and from positions in which it is capable of operating either said starter or said throttle valve rod and an adjustable stop on the throttle valve rod arranged to be engaged by said displaceable element during the last part of its movement when actuating said starter rod to actuate said throttle valve 'rod.

4. A control mechanism for internal combustion engines comprising an engine starter, a starter operating rod, a throttle valve constituting an engine output control, a throttle valve rod, a displaceable element, manual means for operating said displaceable element, said displaceable element and said rods adapted to be operatively connected in different positions of said element relative thereto, means responsive to engine operation to displace said element automatically and independently of its manual operatingmeans to and from positions in which it is capable of operating either said starter or said throttle valve rod and an adjustable stop on the throttle valve rod subsequent operation of said throttle valve rod.

5. A control mechanism'for internal combustion engines comprising an engine starter, an engine output control, a'displaceable element, manual means for operating said displaceable element, means operatively connecting said displaceable element and said engine starter in one position of said element and said element and said output control in another position of said ele-.

ment, means responsive to engine operation to displace said element automatically and independently'of its manual operating means to and from the positions at which it is capable of operative connection with said starter and said output control, and stop means associated with the means operative to operatively connect said displaceable element and said output control, said stop means being arranged to be engaged by said displaceable element during the last part of its movement when actuating said engine starter.

6. A control mechanism for internal combustion engines comprising an engine starter, an engine output control, anarm, a rotatable shaft, a sleeve on said arm surrounding said shaft for rotation therewith but relative longitudinal dis--v placement thereon, manual means for rotating said shaft, a rod projecting from said starter into the path, of movement of said arm in one position on said shaft, a rod projecting from said output control into the path of movement of said arm in another position on said shaft, and means responsive to engine operation to displace said sleeve longitudinaly of said shaft to and from positions in which said arm is capable of operating either said starter or said output control rod.

7. A control mechanism for internal combustion engines comprising an engine starter, an

engine output control, a rotary shaft, anarm pivand independently of its manual control to and from the positions in which it is capable of operating either said starter or said output control.

- ALBERT CALLSEN. 

